Breaking: Final Text of Anglican Covenant

UPDATE: Lionel Deimel has prepared a word by word comparison of Section IV with the Ridley-Cambridge Draft in pdf. Click Here

The final text of the proposed Anglican Covenant has been posted along with a video message from the Archbishop of Canterbury. The controversial fourth section is below:

The transcript of the video is here


h/t to Thinking Anglicans

From the comments:

Jim Naughton: Based on a very, very quick read:

On the one hand: Blech! Who needs it? The bureaucratization of the bonds of affection is an oxymoronic exercise.

On the other hand, if getting disinvited from meetings is the stiffest penality a church would face for following its conscience, I can live with that.

On the third hand, as predicted, this newly named creature, The Central Committee of the Anglican Communion (oops, the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion) has been accorded powers that no one had previously considered giving to it.

And on the fourth hand (guess I have moved onto paws!), folks who get excited about the possibility of other churches joining the Communion should make sure they understand the procedures by which the Anglican Consultative Council changes its membership before they get giddy

.

Tobias Haller comments here

Thus this whole Covenant business is really a form of adoptionism, rather than a real new incarnation or birth — christening our crises and diagnosing our dilemma without offering any real direction for maturing growth in community or treatment for what ails us — which at this point appears to be a form of auto-immune disease.

Section Four: Our Covenanted Life Together


4. Each Church affirms the following principles and procedures, and, reliant on the Holy Spirit, commits itself to their implementation.
4.1 Adoption of the Covenant
(4.1.1) Each Church adopting this Covenant affirms that it enters into the Covenant as a commitment to relationship in submission to God. Each Church freely offers this commitment to other Churches in order to live more fully into the ecclesial communion and interdependence which is foundational to the Churches of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is a fellowship, within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, of national or regional Churches, in which each recognises in the others the bonds of a common loyalty to Christ expressed through a common faith and order, a shared inheritance in worship, life and mission, and a readiness to live in an interdependent life.
(4.1.2) In adopting the Covenant for itself, each Church recognises in the preceding sections a statement of faith, mission and interdependence of life which is consistent with its own life and with the doctrine and practice of the Christian faith as it has received them. It recognises these elements as foundational for the life of the Anglican Communion and therefore for the relationships among the covenanting Churches.
(4.1.3) Such mutual commitment does not represent submission to any external ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Nothing in this Covenant of itself shall be deemed to alter any provision of the Constitution and Canons of any Church of the Communion, or to limit its autonomy of governance. The Covenant does not grant to any one Church or any agency of the Communion control or direction over any Church of the Anglican Communion.
(4.1.4) Every Church of the Anglican Communion, as recognised in accordance with the Constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council, is invited to enter into this Covenant according to its own constitutional procedures.
(4.1.5) The Instruments of Communion may invite other Churches to adopt the Covenant using the same procedures as set out by the Anglican Consultative Council for the amendment of its schedule of membership. Adoption of this Covenant does not confer any right of recognition by, or membership of, the Instruments of Communion, which shall be decided by those Instruments themselves.
(4.1.6) This Covenant becomes active for a Church when that Church adopts the Covenant through the procedures of its own Constitution and Canons.
4.2 The Maintenance of the Covenant and Dispute Resolution
(4.2.1) The Covenant operates to express the common commitments and mutual accountability which hold each Church in the relationship of communion one with another. Recognition of, and fidelity to, this Covenant, enable mutual recognition and communion. Participation in the Covenant implies a recognition by each Church of those elements which must be maintained in its own life and for which it is accountable to the Churches with which it is in Communion in order to sustain the relationship expressed in this Covenant.
(4.2.2) The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion, responsible to the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting, shall monitor the functioning of the Covenant in the life of the Anglican Communion on behalf of the Instruments. In this regard, the Standing Committee shall be supported by such other committees or commissions as may be mandated to assist in carrying out this function and to advise it on questions relating to the Covenant.
(4.2.3) When questions arise relating to the meaning of the Covenant, or about the compatibility of an action by a covenanting Church with the Covenant, it is the duty of each covenanting Church to seek to live out the commitments of Section 3.2. Such questions may be raised by a Church itself, another covenanting Church or the Instruments of Communion.
(4.2.4) Where a shared mind has not been reached the matter shall be referred to the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall make every effort to facilitate agreement, and may take advice from such bodies as it deems appropriate to determine a view on the nature of the matter at question and those relational consequences which may result. Where appropriate, the Standing Committee shall refer the question to both the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting for advice.
(4.2.5) The Standing Committee may request a Church to defer a controversial action. If a Church declines to defer such action, the Standing Committee may recommend to any Instrument of Communion relational consequences which may specify a provisional limitation of participation in, or suspension from, that Instrument until the completion of the process set out below.
(4.2.6) On the basis of advice received from the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates’ Meeting, the Standing Committee may make a declaration that an action or decision is or would be “incompatible with the Covenant”.
(4.2.7) On the basis of the advice received, the Standing Committee shall make recommendations as to relational consequences which flow from an action incompatible with the Covenant. These recommendations may be addressed to the Churches of the Anglican Communion or to the Instruments of the Communion and address the extent to which the decision of any covenanting Church impairs or limits the communion between that Church and the other Churches of the Communion, and the practical consequences of such impairment or limitation. Each Church or each Instrument shall determine whether or not to accept such recommendations.
(4.2.8) Participation in the decision making of the Standing Committee or of the Instruments of Communion in respect to section 4.2 shall be limited to those members of the Instruments of Communion who are representatives of those churches who have adopted the Covenant, or who are still in the process of adoption.
(4.2.9) Each Church undertakes to put into place such mechanisms, agencies or institutions, consistent with its own Constitution and Canons, as can undertake to oversee the maintenance of the affirmations and commitments of the Covenant in the life of that Church, and to relate to the Instruments of Communion on matters pertinent to the Covenant.
4.3 Withdrawing from the Covenant
(4.3.1) Any covenanting Church may decide to withdraw from the Covenant. Although such withdrawal does not imply an automatic withdrawal from the Instruments of Communion or a repudiation of its Anglican character, it may raise a question relating to the meaning of the Covenant, and of compatibility with the principles incorporated within it, and trigger the provisions set out in section 4.2 above.
4.4 The Covenant Text and its amendment
(4.4.1) The Covenant consists of the text set out in this document in the Preamble, Sections One to Four and the Declaration. The Introduction to the Covenant Text, which shall always be annexed to the Covenant text, is not part of the Covenant, but shall be accorded authority in understanding the purpose of the Covenant.
(4.4.2) Any covenanting Church or Instrument of Communion may submit a proposal to amend the Covenant to the Instruments of Communion through the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee shall send the proposal to the Anglican Consultative Council, the Primates’ Meeting, the covenanting Churches and any other body as it may consider appropriate for advice. The Standing Committee shall make a recommendation on the proposal in the light of advice offered, and submit the proposal with any revisions to the covenanting Churches. The amendment is operative when ratified by three quarters of such Churches. The Standing Committee shall adopt a procedure for promulgation of the amendment.

Comments (19)

Based on a very, very quick read:

On the one hand: Blech! Who needs it? The bureaucratization of the bonds of affection is an oxymoronic exercise.

On the other hand, if getting disinvited from meetings is the stiffest penality a church would face for following its conscience, I can live with that.

On the third hand,
as predicted, this newly named creature, The Central Committee of the Anglican Communion (oops, the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion) has been accorded powers that no one had previously considered giving to it.

And on the fourth hand, folks who get excited about the possibility of other churches joining the Communion should make sure they understand the procedures by which the Anglican Consultative Council changes its membership before they get giddy.

Well,

Thanks +Rowan for this lovely Christmas present from the palace, and a Happy Christmas as well to you and yours. : (

I would "ditto" Jim's note above about the office of the Holy Inquisition, oops, I mean the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion as having rather more power than its nebulous boundaries indicate. Will it be the new Anglican College of Cardinals?

Finally, a bit of "relief" on the issue that "signing the covenant" does not grant anyone position within the Anglican communion. Specifically " Adoption of this Covenant does not confer any right of recognition by, or membership of, the Instruments of Communion, which shall be decided by those Instruments themselves." Those who thought that their ticket to recognition as a "Church of the Anglican Communion" would be as simple as signing the covenant will have those hopes dashed I'm "sorry" to say.

On the "Fifth" hand, will this do anything to enhance a meaningful unity/mission/work of the Churches of the Anglican Communion? I hardly think so. Other than the potentially sinister role of the Standing Committee, it would seem to be rather "weak" for those who wanted a scourge for the heretics and with enough loopholes to "opt out" that will probably give it some chance of acceptance.
To echo Jim, Ugh! Who needs it?

To echo Jim and Jeffrey L. Shy, Ugh! Who needs it?

No Sale! No Soap! No Primates (especially the murderous/thieving ones)

Thanks anyway, so much for evil temptation.

Leonardo Ricardo

¨We need to build relationships¨

You, Archbishop Rowan need to build relationships...not hit and run relationships, or hiding out relationships or covert relationships with dangerous excluding madmen...OPEN TRANSPARENT RELATIONSHIPS...you know, the kind that make everyone ¨responsible¨ as you suggest!

We don´t need a covenant process...we need honesty (self and with others) and please stop ¨endorsing¨ difference and statusquo hate and exclusion (Lambeth Conference/Bishop Robinson come to mind) at The Anglican Communion...this isn´t a ¨covenant¨ for everyone, it is a coverup for YOUR cowardly leadership.

Each Church adopting this Covenant affirms that it enters into the Covenant as a commitment to relationship in submission to God.

Signing the Covenant is a submission to God? God wants this Covenant? Or am I misreading?

Words that jump out at me: "monitor", "consequences", "suspension", "incompatible with the Covenant" - words that bring to mind disciplinary procedures which will apply to the signees, despite the ABC's averral that the Covenant will not be a "penal code", nor will it have to do with punishment.

This final part of the Covenant makes me queasy. I don't like it. Of course, I never liked the idea of the Covenant at all, because I believed that the members of the AC pushing for the Covenant had discipline in mind from the beginning. I see the ABC as flogging a dead horse.

Is it possible to offer as an alternative to this odious Covenant, the Baptismal Covenant from the Episcopal BCP for the members of the AC to sign?

June Butler

Something I once heard in seminary seems to fit this case: "If you have to appeal to the Canons, you've already lost." If we have to appeal to a written covenant, exactly how much "affection" does that imply? Precious little, I'd say.

What Tom Sramek, Jr. said.

I give up hoping in Rowan or any other humans. I guess the good side of this is greater reliance on and hope in Christ Jesus, with God's help. Unfortunately, I'm rubbish at that so I hope God will indeed help my reliance and hope.

I guess what dismays me most is that Rowan actually thinks this is a great idea. And that a week before Christmas was a good time to dump this on the communion.

Merry Christmas anyway!

from commenter Lisa Fox:
Exploring the ACO website, I also found this
commentary on the revisions by the Covenant Working Party. That page also reminds us who was on the working group.

This covenant is a silly suggestion. Our answer should be "Hell, no."

Precisely because we are obeying God.

Why sign anything?
Spinach. Heck with it.

BOO. Cantuar is turning into a caricature of himself. It's amazing the kinds of things people talk themselves into. Just say NO.

DOA

4.1.5 and 4.2.3 allowing Instruments to independently admit "churches" and then allowing any party to the covenant to cherry pick an Instrument through which to persecute their complaint is totally unacceptable.

Sad Sad Sad

Final text = Fail. This is not Anglican and it is not needed.

Twenty years ago, thousands of people gathered in Berlin and shouted "Die Mauer muß weg!"--"The Wall must fall!" And fall it did.

And yet, there were some who lamented its loss. They saw the concrete and barbed wire, the machine guns and the land mines, and the guards and soldiers, not as impediments to freedom, but as barriers against change, against the unknown, against the only security they thought they had.

This same fear is occupying the attention and resources of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ, as evidenced by the promulgation of this document, which they feel is necessary to maintain "mutual bonds of affection," as they so charmingly call that which binds us together.

What binds us together is not this document of exclusion, but the water of our baptism, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Blood of our Savior, and the words of our creeds.

If I may quote St. Paul (with an addition of my own,) "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, NOR ANY PRIMATE OR ARCHBISHOP, NOR ANY INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNION, NOR ANY 'COVENANT' OF EXCLUSION, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Nothing.

Doug Curlin

This whole thing sounds very un-Anglican to me.

"Each Church affirms the following principles and procedures, and, reliant on the Holy Spirit, commits itself to their implementation."

It has been said that the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways, but in this way? In legalese language like this? It seems so top-down, disciplinarian, authortarian and unAnglican.

I agree with what GrandmèreMimi has written (as others have written before). The Baptismal Covenant in the BCP is good enough for me. That's the Spirit! ("KISS.")

I'm no Anglican scholar or theology expert, but have a question for y'all. Does the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral statement have any meaning in the 21st century for us any more? Does the proposed covenant make that moot and just a historical document that is now useless to the faithful?

Anyway, on Judgment Day (whatever that means with this proposed covenant), I'll be answering to God and not the ABC and his cronies.

- Jay Vos

+Rowan should have saved this for Boxing Day and put it out with the trash.

This "Covenant" seems unanglican because it is a step towards reunion with Rome. It sets up a mechanism for that imaginary being, "the anglican communion" to enter, as a single institution, into relationships with with other churches.

Well-meaning but ill-advised ecumenists have been yearning for a structure of Anglicanism more similar to that of Rome, and now they may get it. --cf. Cardinal Kasper´s remarks on the ordination of women.

[Please add your full name next time you comment. Thanks - eds.]


Dear + Rowan
No No No No No No No.
No thanks, your Grace. We need no Covenant.
Have a Merry Christmas and thanks but no thanks.

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